Quick-closing balanced and non-return valve.



110,744,777. PATENTED NOV. 24,1903.

' J. E; MARTIN.

QUICK CLOSING BALANCED AND NON-RETURN VALVE; APPLIOATIONHFILIIID mama,190a.

NO MODEL.

a M 45E 4 4 21 22 E I 75 i 7g 2 E 75 I 70 f 55 35 3 4 I 4 as I I z m 7W] g 29 A g 3/ 2g WITNESSES: 'm-whoa vBY v v n4: iwonms PETCRS ca.wno'ruumou'wumiarom u c similar parts. The figure is a central verticalsection of a UNITED STATES I atented November 24, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. MARTIN, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

QUlCK-CLOSING BALANCED AND NON-RETURN VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,777, dated November.24, 1903.

' Application filed February 5, 1903. Serial No. 141,967. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. MARTIN, of Newark, Essex county, NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inQuick-Closing Balanced and Non-Return Valves, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in valves, and especially tosuchvalves as are used in connection with a boiler or battery of boilersto control the main feed-pipe. While the valve is not necessarilylimited to this use, it is especially designed for it. 7 It is wellknown by the trade that a check or non-return valve and a balance-valveare unlike in principle, and yet the object of my invention is toreconcile this difference in a simple manner and produce a simple,compact, and positive valve which can be hand-operated, too, ifnecessary, which can operate as an automatic shut- 0E valve, and ingeneral to arrange the parts so that the valve movements are easy, yetpositive, and so that the main valve will operate as aquick-closingvalve and as a balance-valve and will operate or main -ta1n acertainposition without hammering.

My invention also contemplates the improvement of certain details ofconstruction, which will be especially pointed out.

With these ends in view my invention consists of certain features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisspecification, in which similar figures of reference refer to valve,showing my improvements.

The valve has a main or body casing 10, with an inlet 11, adapted toconnect with the boiler, and with an outlet 12' to connect with theline. The body-casing is preferably made in two parts having a removabletop or bonnet lO and in the lower portion is a seat-ring 13 of usualconstruction, and thismay be of any approved type. The main shut-offvalve 14 seats against the ring 13 and is provided with a vertical shank1 5, which enters the chamber or dash-pot 16, this chamber serving as abalance-chamber and having, preferably, a flange 17 at its upper edge tofit upon the corresponding shoulder ofthe body-casinglO, so that the potor wall 16 can be conveniently held in place by the top or bonnet 10.Through the chamber-wall 16 are holes 18 to admit pressure from the lineto the balancechamber, and these also are adapted to admitste'am to thegroove 19 on the piston 20, which works in the balance-chamber, and fromthe groove 19 the steam or pressure fluid passes through the radial duct21 to a groove 22 around the shank l5 and from thence through a duct.23to the interior of the balance-chamber. The piston 20 is held to theshank 15 bya nut 24 or equivalent fastening, and the nut 24 is held fromturning by a screw 25, and the piston is guarded against turning on theshank by a pin 26. Obviously these particular details of fastening canbe departed from without materially afiecting the principle of theinvention, and the arrangement of the communicating holes, grooves, andducts can be changed so long as the pressure is properly-admitted to thebalance-chamberv and so long as provision is made for having the pistoncutoff the steam-supply, as shown.

The joints around the piston 20 and around the shank 15 where it entersthe balancechamber are not steam-tight, and so there will always besufficient steam or other pressure fluid below the piston 20 to act as acushion for the piston, and in this connection I wish it understood thatwhile I refer in the specification and claims to a piston as actuatingthe shank 15and valve 14,still I intend to cover the use of a diaphragmas an equivalent for the piston.

In the lower part of the shank l5 and within the valve 14 is a chamber27, preferably annular, which communicates, by means of ducts 28, withtheboiler-pressure below the valve. These ducts 28 are made through thehead 29of the tailpiece 30,'and this head is screwed or otherwisefastened to. the lower end of the chamber 27. A feature of the head 29,tailpiece 30, and guide 31, in which the tailpiece slides, is that theparts are of brass or other non-corrosive metal.

In the chamber 27 is an auxiliary valve 32, the upper portion of whichis beveled to lit a seat 33 in the top of the chamber 27, and the valve32 is carried bya hollow stem 34:,whi0h .works longitudinally in theshank 15 and through which near the bottom are ports so that when thevalve 32 is open steam may enter from the chamber 27 through the port 35to the stem 34, and so up to the balance- .chamber, as will presentlyappear.

At the top of the stem 34 and within the balance-chamber is a secondauxiliary valve 36, adapted to seat against the beveled seat 37 at thetop of the shank 15, and it will be noticed that when the valve 36 isseated the valve 32 is unseated, and vice versa.

The valve 36 is normally pressed upward by a spring 38, which is held ina recess of the shank 15, and the valve has a stem 39, through which areports 40, which communicate with the hollow stem 34 and with thebalancechambersurrounded bythewall16. Thestem 39 has a beveled valvularsection 41, which is adapted to rise against the seat 42 in the top ofthe valve-casing, and which thus prevents steam from entering thestuffing-box 43, through which the stem 39 moves, and thus thestuffing-box can be packed safely while live steam is within the maincasing of the valve.

The upper end of the stem 39 is slotted, as shown at 44, to provide aloose connection with the bell-crank lever 45, which is fulcrumed, asshown at 46, and has one end extending through the slot 47 in thehousing 48. It will be seen that the housing protects all the exposedportions of the valve mechanism, and this is quite important, as suchparts are apt to be struck and injured. In this connection it will benoticed that I have practically no exposed moving parts and that Idispense with the usual arrangement of piping and exterior cylinders andpistons, which are quite liable to become deranged and unworkable.

The upper end of the bell-crank connects by a rod 49 with the secondbell-crank 50, which is fulcrumed, as shown at 51, and its second endconnects with a pull-rod 52, which moves opposite a shoulder 53 on abracket-plate 54, to which is also fulcrumed the weighted lever 55,having a grip 56 to engage the pull-rod and bind it against the shoulder53, so as to hold it in place. In this connection Iwish it understoodthat I do not confine my invention to the use of the preciselevermechanism shown for operating the stem 39 and valve 36 and that likewiseany suitable fastening means can be provided for securing the pull-rod52 and the connected parts in position.

If the valve is to be closed, the rod 52 is pulled down, thus tiltingthe two bell-cranks and 45 and moving down the valve 36 against thepressure of the spring 38, thus closing the duct 23 and opening thevalve 32. The live steam will now enter through the ducts 28, chamber27, port 35, stem 34, and duct 40, passing into the balance-chamber 16,and as the piston 20 is of larger area than the valve 14 and the ports40 sufficiently large to admit steam faster than it can escape aroundthe piston 20 and from the hole 18 the pres sure on the upper side ofthe piston 20 will be greater than the pressure on its lower side, andthe valve 14 will be pushed firmly to its seat by the downward movementof the piston 20, while the steam below the piston 20 by escaping slowlyaround the shank 15 will act as a cushion to prevent any sudden closingof the valve 14. The rod 52 can then be fastened by the grip 56, and theparts will remain in the position described. It will be obvious thatafter the valve 14 is once firmly seated any diminution of pressurebeneath it will be greater than that resulting in the chamber 16,because the steam-leakage into the chamber 16 around the piston 20 tendsto offset any such diminution of pressure, and consequently the valve 14will retain its position, the pressure above it being very much greaterthan that upon the under surface of the piston 20.

WVhen it is desired to open the valve, the rod 52 is released, and thevalve36 will rise from its seat, while the rising of the valve 32 closesthe parts 35. In this position no steam can enter the chamber 16 throughthe ports 40, and consequently, the pressure on both sides of the piston20 being equal, the valve 14 will rise, owing to the pressure beneath itbeing greater than that above it, assuming, of course, that the deviceis not intended to be operated in its open position except when theboiler to which it is attached is in use. The piston 20 being subjectedto equal pressure on both sides, will, in connection with the chamber16, operate as a dash-pot, and thus prevent any hammering of the valve14. Should the pressure beneath the valve 14 suddenly decrease, it willimmediately close and will so remain until the pressure increases, whenit will open again. From this descrip' tion it will be apparent that inthe position lastly described-that is, when the rod 52 is released-thedevice will operate as a check or automatic shut-off valve; but when sodesired the valve can be operated by means of the rod 52 to close itpositively in the same manner as the ordinary shut-off valve.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a balanced and non-returnvalve having a main valve balanced by the pressure in the casing andarranged to close automatically and remain closed on the lessening ofpressure on the inlet side of the said main valve.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a balanced and a non-returnvalve having a main valve balanced by the pressure within the casing andclosing by hand against the pressure at the inlet, also becomingunbalanced and closing automatically and remaining closed against thebackflow upon the lessening of pressure at the inlet, and means forautomatically unbalancing said main valve.

3. The combination with a main valve, of

auxiliary valves working within the main valve and arranged to controlconnections on opposite sides of the main valve, automatic means foractuating said auxiliary valves and means for locking said auxiliaryvalves against operation.

4. A valve, comprising a main casing, a balance-chamber within thecasing, a main valve to close the casing-inlet, a piston working in thebalance-chamber, and a pair of valves working in unison in oppositesides of the main valve and arranged to open and close connectionsbetween the back side of the main valve and the balance-chamber andbetween the balance-chamber and the valvecasing.

5. The combination with the main casing having a suitable inlet andoutlet, of a bal ance-chamber within the casing, a piston working in thebalance-chamber, and controlling connections between the chamber and themain casing, a main valve to control the inlet of the main-valve casing,said valve being rigidlyconnected with the piston, and anauxiliary-valve mechanism working within the main valve, and controllingconnections withthe balance-chamber and the pressure behind the mainvalve.

6. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a maincasing having a suitable inlet and outlet, of the main valve controllingthe inlet of the casing, said valve having an internal chamber withports opening below the valve, a balance-chamber, a piston operating inthe balance-chamber and connected to the main valve, and anauxiliary-valve mechanism operating within the main valve andcontrolling the connections between the balance-chamber and the pressurebelow the main valve.

7. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with the mainvalve, the balance-chamber, the piston working in the chamber andconnected to the main valve, and fluid pressure connections from belowthe main valve to the balance-chamber, of a valve mechanism workingwithin the main valve and controlling the connections to thebalance-chamber, and a fastening device by which the position of theinternal valve mechanism may be fixed.

8. In an apparatus of the kind described,

the combination of the connected piston and main valve, the balance-chamber in which the piston moves, fluid-pressure connections throughthe main valve and piston, a pair of valves operating in unison to openand close the said fluid-pressure connections, a lever mechanism formoving the pair of Valves, and a fastening device for fixing theposition of the valves.

9. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with the maincasing and the balance-chamber therein, said chamber communicating withthe main casing, of a main valve to close the inlet to the piston, thepiston working in the balance-chamber and moving to open and close theconnections with the main casing, a hollow stem moving longitudinallythrough the main valve and piston, saidstem being adapted to carrypressure from behind the main valve to thebalance-chamber, valves atopposite ends of the hollow stem, one valve operating to open and closethe connection between the balancechamber, and the pressure behind themain valve and the second valve acting to close the connection betweenthe balance-chamber and the main casing, and manually operated means forworking the connected valves.

10. In a valve having the usual main valve and seating-ring, thecombination with such valve of a detachable non-corrosive tailpieceworking in a non-corrosive guide.

11. In an apparatus of the kind described,

the combination with the main valve, the piston connected to the mainvalve and the balance-chambeijthe piston havinga duct connecting withthe balance chamber and through suitable mediums with the main casing,of a hollow stem extending longitudinally through the piston and mainvalve and serving to lead pressure from behind the main valve to thebalance-chamber, a valve on the lower end of the stem to close theaforesaid pressure connection, a valve on the upper end of the stem toclose the duct in the piston, and manually-operated means for operatingthe aforesaid connected valves.

12. The combination with a valve having moving parts extending beyondits casing, of

a housing inclosing the said moving parts.

13. The'combination with a main valvecasing and its exterior mechanism,of a sliding stem projecting through the casing and controlling theinterior mechanism, a pullrod, a lever mechanism connecting the pullrodwith the aforesaid sliding stem, and a fastening deviceto fix theposition of the pull-rod. I

14. The combination of anon-return valve, and means for converting thesaid valve into a balanced closing valve.

15. The combination with a main unbala'nced valve,of a manually-operated auxiliaryvalve mechanism connected with the main valveand adapted when actuated to convert the same into a balanced valve.

16. The combination of a balanced stop name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH E. MARTIN.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTCHINSON, J. G. DUNBAR.

